I've had my iBook G4 for about 4 years now. I replaced the battery two years ago and have had to replace the charger twice. My current charger, which I bought rather cheaply on ebay, will only charge the battery when my computer is shut down or sleeping.
This makes it very difficult to work as my current battery is losing charge quickly and plugging it in is of no use when I am using it.
Is there anything I can do to change this? Or do I need a new battery?
- AK

Sounds to me like your power adapter is not the correct wattage. You could try resetting the PMU. Also, the battery is likely nearing the end of its life.

Lots of people manage with totally dead laptop batteries; you're just always tethered to an outlet! If you're going to spend upwards of $200 for a new battery + adapter, you might just consider the new macbook instead! :-P